In March, Jeremy Kerley signed with the Detroit Lions as the team’s possible slot receiver and punt returner. By August, it was looking like he was going to be out of a job.
The Lions' signing of Anquan Boldin pushed Kerley down the reciver depth chart. So did TJ Jones’ ascension as a receiver who can play both in the slot and on the outside. Unlike Jones and Andre Roberts, Kerley is not suited to be an outside receiver, so his role was going to be limited.
Then Saturday night came, and Kerley did not play an offensive snap against the Baltimore Ravens in a preseason game in which almost everyone played. So Lions general manager Bob Quinn made a move and traded Kerley for San Francisco 49ers backup guard Brandon Thomas -- exchanging a player who was unlikely to make Detroit’s roster to take a flier on an offensive lineman from another team.
Acquiring Thomas is an interesting move for the Lions. He played both guard and tackle at Clemson before tearing his ACL during a pre-draft workout with New Orleans in 2014. Despite the ACL injury, San Francisco drafted him in the third round of the 2014 draft.
He didn’t play at all in 2014. Last season, he was on the Niners' roster but didn’t play. And now, he’s on the move and the Lions are taking a chance on him. Thomas has good size at 6-foot-3, 317 pounds, and when he was going through the draft process, he was described on NFL.com as being an “athletic, efficient mover. Light on his feet to step to the second level or pull.” There were concerns in his draft profile about his power and that he could be easily bull-rushed.
Thomas’ positional description is similar to that of Michael Ola, Geoff Schwartz and Joe Dahl. Dahl, who the Lions drafted this year, is a lock to make the roster. Ola was injured earlier in the preseason and hasn’t played or practiced since. Schwartz did not play Saturday against the Ravens and is on the roster bubble.
Based on what happens in the next week, this deal could be a multitude of things: It could be the Lions taking a chance on a player with talent who wasn’t working out in another organization. It could be an indicator of Ola’s health, Schwartz’s health or Schwartz’s status on the team. Or, since Thomas has practice-squad eligibility, this could be a move to grab a player so the Lions can learn about him before potentially getting him for the practice squad next week.
Either way, it’ll be something worth watching over the next six days as the Lions head toward their final roster cuts.